Sioux Falls woman charged in drowning death of infant son

August 29, 2023

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.–The mother of an infant who drowned in a bathtub last month has been arrested.

Twenty year-old Ashlynn Swenson-Marshall of Sioux Falls was arrested Sunday morning for manslaughter and abuse or cruelty to a minor.

On July 20, the Sioux Falls Police Department received a medical call that a 2-month-old boy was not breathing. Police learned that the boy’s mother, Swenson-Marshall, had been bathing the infant and left him unattended for anywhere from seven to 10 minutes. The infant’s head went underwater at some point while he was left unattended. He died as a result.

After Sioux Falls police detectives finished their investigation, the information was sent to the South Dakota State’s Attorney’s Office for review.

Swenson-Marshall was taken into custody in Madison and was being held on $25,000 cash bond.